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Spectre of the Gun (episode)
Kirk's landing party is trapped in a bizarre recreation of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral with the crewmembers on the losing side. Summary On a mission to establish contact with the reclusive and xenophobic Melkotians, Kirk ignores the message of a space buoy which warns the Enterprise to immediately leave Melkot space. Kirk tries to contact the Melkotians, but there is no response to his message. When Spock, Kirk, Scott, McCoy, and Chekov beam down to Melkot, they materialize in a fog bank not recorded by ship's sensors. Their tricorders and communicators do not function. The landing party encounters a Melkotian who informs them that they are "outside," a disease that must be destroyed. Their trespassing is to be punished by death, and that the pattern of their death will be taken from Kirk's mind, since it was he who ordered that the Melkotians' warning be disregarded. The landing party finds itself teleported to a facade of an 19th century American frontier town. All of their equipment is gone, and instead each now has a gunbelt and a revolver. They observe the curious "incompleteness" of the town. Buildings with only a front wall, open to the air on the sides and back. Signs and clocks hanging in mid-air. Kirk reads from a copy of the Tombstone Epitaph, a newspaper with the date of October 26th, 1881. A man with a sheriff's badge greets them, acting as though he knows them well. He refers to Kirk as Ike, Spock as Frank, Scott as Billy, and McCoy as Tom. Recognizing the sheriff's name, Johnny Behan, Kirk quickly puts the names together. Ike Clanton, Frank and Tom McClaury, Billy Claiborne and Billy Clanton. He further recalls that the Clantons were one of two factions who fought for control of the town of Tombstone; the other being the Earps: Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil, who were the town marshalls, and "Doc" Holliday. Spock notes that a gunfight occurred on October 26th, 1881, at the O.K. Corral, in which the Clantons lost. Kirk warns that the antique guns they all are carrying can be as deadly as phasers at close range. They witness the shooting of a bar patron by Morgan Earp, and conclude that death is one thing that is real. Inside the bar, Chekov is accosted by a woman named Sylvia who claims to know him. Both Kirk and Chekov narrowly avoid a gunfight with Morgan Earp over the incident. Kirk tries to convince the Ed the bartender that he is not Ike Clanton, to no avail. Kirk tries to make peace with the Earps. When this too fails, he and the landing party attempt to leave town, but they are stopped by a force field. McCoy and Spock cooperate to build a tranquillizer gas grenade which will incapacitate the Earps. McCoy encounters the town dentist, "Doc" Holliday, while trying to acquire chemicals for his tranquilizer. Meanwhile, Chekov has fallen in love with Sylvia. When Morgan picks a fight over the girl, Chekov is shot and killed. Spock is puzzled by this, since William Clairborne survived the battle at the O.K. Corral. Kirk takes it to mean that the outcome of the conflict does not necessarily correspond with the historical outcome. Kirk tries to get the sheriff to call off the shoot-out, but finds that Behan is more interested in having the Clantons kill the Earps. With time running out, Scotty volunteers to test McCoy's gas grenade. Despite McCoy's careful preparation, it does not work. Spock realizes that nothing around them is real, that the entire scenario is taking place in their minds. Kirk vows not to leave the bar, but finds himself and the others teleported to the O.K. Corral. The corral is encircled by a force field so that escape is impossible. Spock tries to convince the others that if they recognize that the situation is not real, they will not die. Kirk observes that any doubt would be enough to kill them, just like Chekov. Using a mind meld, Spock convinces everyone else that nothing around them, including the bullets, is real. The Earps arrive and open fire on the ersatz Clantons, but the bullets pass right through them. When the Earps deplete their ammunition, Kirk attacks Wyatt Earp and beats him. Kirk seems about to shoot him, but upon seeing the abject terror in Wyatt's eyes, Kirk releases him. The landing party finds themselves back aboard the Enterprise. Chekov is alive and well, and Kirk suggests it is because the only thing that was real to him was the girl. The Melkotian buoy, once again directly in front of them, emits M waves and then disintegrates. The Melkotians, impressed that Kirk did not kill, extend an invitation to establish relations with the Federation. Log Entries * Captain’s log, stardate 4385.3. We have transported down to the Melkotian planet and have encountered conditions which are completely contrary to what we were prepared for. '' Memorable Quotes "''All those western cossacks had were poisonous snakes and cactus plants." : - Chekov "What can I do, Captain? You know we're always supposed to maintain good relations with the natives." : - Chekov "Physical reality is consistent with universal laws. When the laws do not operate, there is no reality." : - Spock, to McCoy Background Information * For the third season, the velour uniforms from the first two seasons have been replaced by better fitting, but cheaper looking polyester ones. Reportedly, the fabric was the same material used in professional baseball uniforms. * This is TOS's only foray into surrealism, with some unique set designs by Matt Jefferies. * Story outline "The Last Gunfight" . Revised final draft , filmed late May. James Blish's adaptation has title as "The Last Gunfight". * DeForest Kelley appeared in the 1957 film "Gunfight at the OK Corral." A funny photo taken on the set of this segment shows Kelley looking in puzzlement at a revolver that he is holding incorrectly. * Mike Minor was the designer of the Melkot mask. * This is the only episode to end with the Enterprise heading toward a planet. * A very subtle change in the third season was the use of new sound effects for the pushing of buttons on the bridge. * Another difference this episode brings is the "singing plant" background noise from "The Cage", used for nearly every planet in seasons one and two, is replaced here by a new, warbly sound. This will be used intermittently throughout season three - for example, in "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky". * Jerry Fielding's unique score adds excellent atmosphere to this episode. In a nice bit of humor, when we see the villains in the saloon, Fielding has the piano play stereotypical "menace" notes. Fielding's other "Star Trek" contribution was his memorable score for "The Trouble with Tribbles." * In different views of Scotty inhaling the concoction at the bar, the gas escaping from the cannister varies quite a bit in its volume. * The sign that says "sheriff" has an identical font to the main titles of the show. * James Doohan intensely disliked the hairstyle he debuted in this episode, which was not his own choice. By the filming of The Tholian Web, this hair-do is gone for good, though viewers would see it again in The Empath and Elaan of Troyius, which weren't aired until December of that year. * This is one of three episodes ("The Man Trap" and "The Changeling" are the others) to indicate Uhura is of something other than African-American decent, as her native language is "Swahili". The writers' bible confirms she is from "The United States of Africa". * The positions of the Earps constantly shifts as they're walking to the OK Corral. Perhaps this was director Vincent McEveety's way of enhancing the surrealism of this episode. * A minor continuity error occurs in the teaser. As a "redshirt" enters the bridge from the turbo-lift, he walks by the Engineering station three times in the same pass. * George Takei (Sulu) does not appear in this episode. * The scene from "Spectre of the Gun" of Spock mind-melding with Kirk, McCoy and Scott was originally going to be incorporated into Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. * Speaking of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Rex Holman (Morgan) would later play the settler J'onn (The one Sybok approached at the beginning) in that very movie. * Several of the actors in this episode, most notably Charles Seel and Gregg Palmer, acted extensively in westerns throughout their careers. * The episode originally aired just one day before the anniversary of the original gunfight at the OK Corral. * Wyatt Earp, despite the sign in this episode, was not the Marshall of Tombstone. His older brother Virgil was. Wyatt and Morgan were Deputy Marshalls. Also, in reality, the actual gunfight took place outside Fly's Photographic Studio, a good distance from the O.K. Corral. These inaccuracies have an excuse in Star Trek because they come from Kirk's romanticized conceptions of the Old West. Links and References Main cast * William Shatner as Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock * DeForest Kelley as McCoy * James Doohan as Scott * Walter Koenig as Chekov * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura Guest Stars * Ron Soble as Wyatt Earp * Bonnie Beecher as Sylvia * Charles Maxwell as Virgil Earp * Rex Holman as Morgan Earp * Sam Gilman as Doc Holliday * Charles Seel as Ed * Bill Zuckert as Johnny Behan * Ed McCready as Barber * Abraham Sofaer as Melkot (voice) Co-Stars * James Doohan as Melkotian buoy (uncredited voice) * Gregg Palmer as Rancher (uncredited) * Richard Anthony as Rider (cut from final episode) * Eddie Paskey as Leslie (uncredited) * William Blackburn as Hadley (uncredited) * Roger Holloway as Roger Lemli (uncredited) References American frontier; apothocary; Arizona; baking soda; bourbon; bullet; Buntline Special; cactus; cattle; chloroform; Claiborne, Billy; Clanton, Billy; Clanton, Ike; Colt; cotton; corn whiskey; Cossack; English; Fast Draw; force field; gallon; gas grenade; gun; horse; lead; M-rays; marshal; Melkot(ian); Melkotian homeworld; mortar; OK Corral; OK Corral, Battle at the; pestle; Russian; scotch; snake; stomach; Swahili; Taos Lightning; telepathy; Tombstone; Tombstone Epitaph; tranquilizer; United States of America; venom; Vulcan language; Vulcan mind-meld; yard. DVD Media Information * Star Trek: The Original Series, Volume 28 (original two episode single-disc release) * ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' - The Complete Third Season (disc 2 of the set) External Links * Category:TOS episodes de:Wildwest im Weltraum es:Spectre of the Gun fr:Spectre of the Gun nl:Spectre of the Gun